The Big Picture

A mother’s love lives on. . . .

She remembers . . . her child’s merry laugh,

The joyful shout of his childhood,

The opening promise of his youth.

-Washington Irving

I have been called ‘lucky’.  My children love the Lord.  They walk in His ways.  One has now graduated from university and been commissioned as an officer in the US Navy.  Another is in university.  The others have goals and dreams.  It may seem that I am lucky, but really I am blessed.  I am blessed by God for no other reason but that He loves to bless His children, just as I love to bless mine.  Psalm 36:7-9 reminds us, “How precious is Your lovingkindness, O God!  Therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of Your wings.  They are abundantly satisfied with the fullness of Your house, and You give them drink from the river of Your pleasures.  For with You is the fountain of life; in Your light we see light.”

Recently, as I sat in my son’s graduation and as I participated in his commissioning, I marvelled at all that God had done this far in his life.  He has blessed my son more than I can imagine.  The words of a mother just reaching the high school years came back to me, “I need to see the big picture.”  In looking back, I don’t think we can ever really see the ‘big picture’.  My plans for my son would have been much too small.  God had bigger plans.  I am so thankful that He took over.  And in many ways I am glad that I did not see the ‘big picture’ when I started homeschooling high school.  It would have been too frightening to think that I had to get my son where God took him.  It would then have been my effort and not God’s blessing.

As my son now moves on to the next step in his life journey, I am thankful that he is under the shadow of God’s wings.  I know that I can trust him completely with God.  And I am blessed not only with God’s blessings to my son, but also with the precious memories of his childhood and youth.  I remember his merry laughter and joyful shouts.  I remember the ‘opening promise of his youth’ when God placed him with a scholarship in just the right university.  Even looking back the ‘big picture’ still eludes me.  I only know enough of what God has done to praise Him for His lovingkindness and faithfulness.  I know that my son was where God wanted him to be, but I don’t know all the reasons. 

When I am tempted to worry about the future of my other children, I am reminded to trust them to Him.  When I am tempted to look for the ‘big picture’, I am reminded to trust Him with the details.  When I am tempted to be afraid because my efforts are too small, I am reminded that His blessings do not rely on my achievements.  His blessings do not come because I deserve them, but rather because He loves me.  And, as amazing as it seems, He loves my children more than I do.  It is a blessing not to require the ‘big picture’, but rather to trust my loving Lord with the details of the future.